Dreher is the first Democrat to announce he is running for the office in 2018.

No one had officially filed as a candidate for the office as of Tuesday, according to the state Elections Bureau.

"The 22nd District needs a leader in the State Senate that will take care of the needs facing our families; not just the issues facing the rich people who pay for the campaigns of Republican lawmakers," Dreher said in a news release.

"I will be the leader who fights to fund our schools, fix our roads, and protect our health care. Conservative Republican leadership has failed to fix these problems because it doesn't serve us. It serves a handful of rich people instead. That will end when I am elected," he added.

Dreher is an assistant prosecuting attorney in Ionia County.

He served the U.S. Army from 2002-08, serving two tours in Iraq. Years in the military taught him how to be a leader and instilled in him a "desire for public service," he said in the release.

State Rep. Lana Theis, R-Brighton Township, has also announced her candidacy for the seat. Theis serves the 42nd House District, which includes the city of Brighton and township of Genoa, Brighton, Putnam, Hamburg and Green Oak.

Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state Senate, state House and Livingston County Commissioner have until April 24, 2018 to file for office to get on Michigan's Aug. 7, 2018 primary elections ballot. The 2018 general election is Nov. 6, 2018.

Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Eberbach at 517-548-7148 or at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Facebook @Jen.Eberbach and Twitter at JenEberbach.